A New Dawn
by Blaze
Summary: Buffy, Angel, Their Daughter, time travel, Drusilla, Demons, Death, Life, DAWN
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** A New Dawn

**Author: **Blaze

**E-mail**: I do not own any of the characters you recognise.

**Authors note**: This story it a jumble of cannon time line and AU. Things happen at different times and not necessarily as they do on the show.

I started writing this ages ago and it's taken my awhile. It would probably still be in limbo if it weren't for my Beta Ayleen (BEST BETA EVER!). You should all thank her a lot that this fic is readable! If you've read my old stuff you'd know what I mean.

My inspiration is from a film that stared Brittany Murphy and Kirsten Dunst, I can't remember the name of the movie though sorry.

**Summary**: Buffy, Angel, Their daughter, Time travel, Drusilla, Demons…….

Rating: PG-13

**Feedback:** Yessss please.

Prologue 

The day she was born was the happiest day in either of their lives. With everything that had happened to them throughout the years they thought this would never happen. To hold the tiny bundle in their arms was the biggest reward they could have ever asked for.

That was then.

Buffy watched her daughter walk up the path towards their house and sighed. Dawn was three hours late home, this was nothing unusual for their fifteen year old. Dawn had been a lovely child, the apple of her parents' eyes, until a year ago. Then she'd made friends with the wrong people and her life had started spinning out of control. First it had been coming home late, matched with skipping school. Next it was her attitude and her clothes. Dawn's behaviour was getting worse and Buffy and Angel didn't know what to do.

Dawn walked through the door and slammed it shut before yelling "I'm home." She casually walked past Buffy and into the kitchen, pulling out a bag of chips from the cupboard.

Buffy followed her and folded her arms across her chest.

"Dawn this has got to stop!" Buffy said, looking defeated.

"Sure whatever mom, just because I'm not a goody-goody like you were", Dawn said sarcastically and she rolled her eyes.

She pushed past Buffy and went up to her bedroom with her mother following closely behind her.

Dawn closed the door in her mother's face, but Buffy opened it and walked right in.

"We can't take this anymore, Dawn. You're breaking your father's heart. We've decided that you need to get away for a while, we're sending you to live with Willow for the summer" Buffy told her with such sadness in her eyes.

Dawn's face dropped in horror and she threw her hairbrush on the floor and advanced on Buffy.

"NO, There is no way I'm going," she yelled.

Buffy saw the aggression on her daughter's face and remembered a time when they could settle arguments with a chat and a hug.

"You have no say in the matter, young lady! You are leaving at the end of the week."

Dawn threw her hand in her mother's direction, intending to hit her in the face, but Buffy was quicker and caught her arm and held it awkwardly in front of her daughter. She took hold of Dawn's other arm just in case she hit out with that one too. Buffy's heart broke as she looked into her daughter's eyes and saw a stranger looking back at her. Dawn struggled and Buffy held on tighter, which caused Dawn to moan in pain.

Buffy was about to let go when she saw the pain on her daughter's face. Dawn felt the grip on her arm loosen and stepped back and kicked at her mother's leg. Buffy moved out of the way which caused Dawn to lose her balance and she fell back on the floor hitting her head.

"Dawn what happened to you?" Buffy asked and bent down next to her daughter who was holding her head in pain. Which was when Buffy noticed a mark on her daughter's neck.

Buffy's eyes narrowed and she stood up in anger.

"What is that?" She demanded to know pointing at the mark that was an inch below a purplish bruise that looked suspiciously like a hicky.

"Mom, chill! Its not even real," Dawn protested and got up off the floor rubbing the back of her head.

"Dawn," Buffy warned. "Tell me."

"It's a temporary tat, I'm going to have a real one done on Saturday. Which means I'm part of the gang, and you can throw me out - I'll have people who care about me to stay with." Dawn said and smirked.

"What gang?" Buffy asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Night walkers, they're vampires and I'm going to be one of them. I'll be powerful and people will respect me."

Buffy's eyes widened in horror.

"This isn't possible," Buffy shook her head and backed up out of her daughter's room. "There's none left."

Dawn looked at her mother as if she was crazy and then slammed the door in her face.

Buffy managed to shake herself out of her daze and locked her daughter's door from the outside so she couldn't leave.

She picked up the phone and dialled Angel's cell phone. All she managed to say was: 'come home' before the phone clattered to the floor.

When Angel arrived home four hours later he found Buffy sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Buffy," he spoke and dropped to his knees in front of her.

She looked at him then leaned forward and grabbed hold of him, hugging him tight to her, almost crushing him.

She stayed like that for some time before calming down enough to let go. He moved to sit next to her and took her hands while she explained what had happened with Dawn.

"But that's impossible," Angel protested. "We killed them all sixteen years ago."

"Angel, I know that, but what if we missed one, what if there was a spell and someone accidentally turned themselves into one. What if..." she rambled.

"Buffy it isn't possible, the amulet killed every vampire on the planet. There is no way we missed one, and even if some idiot did somehow turn themselves they, would have been ash in seconds. The amulet would have reactivated and killed it", he reassured her.

"Angel, you know as well as me anything is possible," Buffy stated.

"You said she was going to have a tattoo to be part of the gang? Does that sound like normal vampire behaviour to you?"

"Well, no. But Angel, if there are no vampires, what is happening to our baby?" her voice was trembling and he could see tears form in her eyes. "If she was under a thrall I could forgive everything she's been doing and we could break the spell and have her back but if it's just some run of the mill gang… I can't handle the thought that she would act like this on her own accord."

"I'll speak to her," Angel told his wife and kissed her hands before putting them onto her lap and leaving the couch.

He walked up the stairs with a heavy heart and unlocked the door. He didn't knock he just twisted the handle and walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

It was dark, but he could see a suitcase on the floor, bulging at its seams, and her desk draws were open and clothes were all over the floor. Dawn was laid on the bed, still in her clothes and on top of the covers. He figured she'd fallen asleep while packing.

He pulled a chair out from under her desk, placed it next to her bed, and sat down. He clapped his hands twice and the lights came on. Dawn's eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed, and her gaze landed on her father.

She'd never seen him like this before - he looked so calm on the outside, but his eyes told a different story. They had this look about them that she couldn't describe but it scared her and he was unnaturally calm and it unnerved her a little. She didn't let it show and put a cocky smirk on her face.

"You look like Faith when you smile like that," He told her, his calm voice startling her.

"What can I do for you, dad? I'm kinda in the middle of something," She told him and sat up and crossed her legs, finishing her packing.

"I came to talk to you about this vampire cult you want to join," he sat back in the chair and looked her in the eye.

"Dad, I'm so not in the mood for a lecture! And you won't have to put up with me after today - I'm leaving."

"How about we make a deal? You listen to what I have to say, and then you can decide whether you still want to leave or not. If you want to leave I'll even drive you wherever you want to go."

Angel's expression shifted to a look of concentration and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he began his story. Dawn felt a chill run up her spine and rubbed her arms to get rid of the goose bumps.

"When your mother was in high school she lived in a place called Sunnydale. Now, that wasn't your average suburban town. Under the ground was what is known as a hellmouth. Now that is not a good thing to live on top of, as you could probably guess by the name. All sorts of evil things lived there, the biggest problem being the vampires.

There was always a new big bad in town, but at one point there was a female vampire named Drusilla. Now that was one crazy undead woman and she had a grudge against Sunnydale and one group of its inhabitants in particular. That group had had run-ins with her before, but this time it was different, this time she'd snapped.

The group of friends was having a small get-together and Drusilla burned down the building they were in. One of them was badly injured, and was in hospital for three months. She murdered one of the girls' parents and after the fire she sent a new demon attack against them every night for two weeks. Eventually the group was battered and bruised and losing the battle. On the night they were going to take the fight to her doorstep she set a trap for them, and managed to capture three of them, a boy and two girls. First she tortured the boy while she made the other two watch. By the time he died he no longer had any toes, fingers or eyelids. His whole body had been horribly burnt and his tongue had been cut out to silence his screams. He died three days after being captured.

Next she chose the youngest girl, but before she could torture the brunette in new and unusual ways the rest of the group found them and managed to rescue them. The eldest girl was weak from lack of food and was also emotionally drained, and besides Drusilla had been drugging her to keep her sedated and she'd also been drinking her blood every now and again. The girl also had big clumps of her blond hair missing as the vampire had ripped it out in fits of rage.

They were almost clear, they'd made it within five minutes of the safe house when vampires attacked. The group fought but the vampires were only interested in re-capturing the eldest girl. While the others were fighting the young girl who had been captured hid the eldest so no one could see her and performed a glamour spell on herself. She took off running, and before she was out of sight she yelled something and everyone turned and looked at her. The vampires immediately took chase.

Three nights later the elder of the two girls was awake and almost completely healed and ready for a fight. They stormed Drusilla's new lair, she managed to dust her and the group rejoiced. They searched the place high and low, and finally the girl found a room on the top floor and entered. On the bed was the young one, and she was so happy to find her she rushed to her side. But the young girl's eyes opened and the blond knew right then that something was wrong. The brunette sat up in the bed and started taunting the other girl. Telling her it was all her fault this happened.

"And that's when I said, I'm sorry, I love you Dawn!" A voice spoke from the doorway. "And then I plunged a stake right through her heart and watched her burst into ash right before my eyes." Buffy's eyes were glistening with tears.

"The boy who was burned was Xander, The girl whose parents were murdered was Willow. In the demon attacks Giles lost his eye. The boy who was tortured to death was Oz, and she turned your auntie and your mother had to kill her."

"Is this the type of thing you want to be?" Buffy whispered.

Dawn looked at both her parents like they were crazy, "you think some made up story is going to make me change my mind?" she demanded to know and got off her bed throwing the last few items into her suit case. "Nice touch there adding the bits about people's injuries! Blaming Xander's burns on that woman almost makes it more believable! But I do realise that vampires aren't actually real! I'm not stupid! I know holy water can't burn people or mirrors not show something standing in front of them. Lie to me all you like! I'm still leaving!" Dawn zipped up her suitcase and pushed past her father, but before she could get through the door Willow appeared.

"Let her see," she spoke, her eyes turning black.

Dawn's eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp. She almost crashed to the ground, but Angel caught her and laid her on her bed.

The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that her head hurt. It felt like she'd been hit on the head with a hammer. She opened her eyes and was glad to find it still dark out because she knew for sure that if the sun had been shining it would have hurt like hell. She pushed herself up and leaned over to put her bedside lamp on. Her eyes stung in protest and she blinked a few times to get used to the light.

What she saw confused her, the bedside cabinet was white with butterfly stickers all over it. The cabinet that should have been there had been painted black three weeks ago. Anger surged within her as she realised her mom must have bought her a new one.

She threw back the covers and got out of the bed and that's when she noticed the carpet. In her room the floor was wooden. This caused her to pause and she looked around the room.

"Where the hell am I?" she demanded to know but of course no one was listening.

She scratched her head trying to think of the last thing she remembered and touched the sore spot at the back of her head where she'd banged it. She'd been arguing with her mom and then her dad had given her a lecture. Just as she was about to bolt Willow had entered the room and that's when it all went blank.

Dawn walked to the doorway and pulled open the door, stepping tentatively into the hallway. The house was quiet. She tiptoed down the corridor towards the stairs but heard a noise outside. She tiptoed back towards the room she'd been in and looked out of the window. She saw a figure in black walking away from the house and someone with blond hair walked past her window. Dawn opened the window enough so she could lean out and saw the blond climbing a tree. Dawn frowned as she realised who it was.

Dawn walked back out of the room and down the hall towards the room she was sure the window was in. The door opened and her mom stepped out.

"God Dawn!" Buffy gasped placing a hand over her heart. "You trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Sorry mom," She replied sarcastically.

Buffy looked down at herself: "I fell asleep in my clothes." Buffy defended quickly.

Dawn frowned, "Sure whatever. What do I care if you climb in the window? It's weird, but why would I care?" Dawn asked.

"What - you saw?" Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Don't tell mom, please. I'll let you borrow that blue sweater you like." She begged, her eyes pleading.

Before Dawn could reply the door at the end of the hallway opened and a lady stepped out, tying her robe in the process.

"Girls, what's going on?" The lady asked and flipped on the switch so they were all illuminated in light.

"Sorry if we woke you mom. I was going to the bathroom, I fell asleep in my clothes and felt all icky so was going to get washed up," Buffy explained, the lie rolling off her tongue like she was used to it.

"Uh uh," Joyce nodded believing her. "What about you Dawnie?"

Dawn looked with wide eyes from one woman to the other, "I was thirsty, I was going to get a glass of water…" She mumbled, totally aghast.

"I'll get it, Dawnie. I'm going down anyway. You get back to bed."

They both watched as Joyce left their view. Dawn was completely struck dumb, trying to process what was going on. The lady looked so much like the photos she'd seen of her grandma; but she died before Dawn was born, so it just wasn't possible that it was her.

"Thank you so much for covering," Buffy said and hugged Dawn. "You're the best little sister in the world."

Dawn didn't reciprocate the hug but stood there dumbfounded. She had no idea what was going on, maybe it was some kind of weird trick her parents were playing on her because of the fight they'd had earlier? There was no way it could be what it seemed - that was just ridiculous!

Buffy let go and looked at her sister. "What's up?" she asked suddenly concerned.

"Erm," Dawn stuttered. "Why?"

"First you cover for me, which I totally appreciate but totally don't get. You normally can't wait to get me in trouble. And second… you look terrible."

Dawn tried to think of something to say but could only come up with the excuse she used on her mom whenever she was in trouble.

"I think I'm sick," she answered trying to look miserable.

Buffy looked at her a few seconds before shrugging and heading towards the bathroom leaving Dawn standing there. Dawn heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly went back to the room she was in and laid down pretending to be asleep. Joyce quietly placed the glass of water on the table, leaned over, switched off the lamp and left the room closing the door behind her.

Dawn sat up in bed the minute Joyce left the room, trying to process what was going on. She couldn't come up with a single excuse for what was happening that was grounded in reality. She riffled though some of the draws and found some diaries. Dawn flipped though them but found nothing interesting - just some crap about the person feeling like she didn't belong. She flopped back on the bed and covered her eyes with her arm.

Dawn felt worn out physically and emotionally, her mind was busy with thought. The last thing she remembered before finally falling asleep was: "I hope it's a dream… I'll wake up soon…"


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn woke up and groaned when she realised she was still in the weird room. Her nose caught the smell of bacon and she followed the smell all the way to the kitchen.

"Morning sweetie," Joyce greeted and put a plate with bacon and eggs on the table.

Dawn gave a small smile and sat at the breakfast bar and looked down as her food. She felt too confused and weirded out to eat. She used her folk to move the food around her plate.

The news played quietly in the background, the picture showed a reporter standing in front of the two towers and under it, it said 'breaking news'. The story wasn't about the terrorist act that had devastated Millions of lives but it was a trivial story about a spoiled IT girl being busted for drugs. It was seeing the towers there, un touched that made Dawn believe. Dawn's stomach turned and she almost choked up her pancake but managed to swallow without the other two people in the room noticing there was something wrong.

"I'm leaving in an hour so Dawn listen to your sister. And Buffy, stay out of trouble this weekend. I know you look after Dawn but look after yourself a bit better please, for me?"

"Yes mom, Dawn and I will be in one piece when you get back," Buffy promised and rolled her eyes.

They ate in silence and cleared up in the same way. Joyce left and the girls went shopping.

Dawn spent the day in a daze, being dragged from one shop to the next, while Buffy spent the day enjoying her self with her less annoying sister.

They spent the afternoon eating junk food and watching DVDs. Dawn was finding herself actually having fun with the younger version of her mom, and she decided not to think too much about how or why she was there and just to go with the flow.

The last DVD finished and Buffy jumped off the sofa.

"I'm going to Willow's for a bit. You know the drill - don't answer the door to anyone and don't leave the house." Buffy ordered and grabbed her coat.

Dawn was a little taken aback by Buffy's sudden departure and stared at the door for a few seconds. That was before she remembered Buffy climbing in through her window late the previous night. Dawn took her coat from the hanger near the door and followed Buffy who was walking at a lazy pace down the street. After following for ten minutes Dawn frowned as Buffy entered the cemetery. This was the last place she thought her mother was sneaking off to, going to Willow's was definitely a lie but why would her goody-goody two shoes of a mother go to the cemetery alone at night? The question would have to go unanswered as Dawn lost Buffy when they passed by a crypt.

She searched the cemetery a while but couldn't see any signs of her mother. She decided to leave and was heading back to the house when she heard a scream. Dawn took off in the direction of the scream and arrived two minutes later to see her mom and dad fighting two men. There were four girls there around the same age as Dawn, one was on the floor unconscious and bleeding from her neck while the other three ran off screaming. Next to the bleeding girl were a blanket and a large piece of smooth wood with letters on it surrounded by candles.

The man her mother was fighting landed on the board and broke it in two. He seemed dazed but soon recovered and launched himself at Buffy. Dawn stood there startled at what she was seeing. Her mother, the woman who had always told her violence solved nothing, was beating a man to a bloody pulp. Another man appeared from around the crypt and stalked towards Buffy. Dawn was about to yell but her mother jumped, somersaulted to land behind the man and kicked him in the back of the knee so he fell to the ground.

The man that Buffy had been fighting approached the unconscious girl while Buffy was busy with the new guy. He picked her up and started to walk away with her. Buffy saw what was happening and tried to go over to help but her assailant pulled on her arm and threw her into a tree.

Dawn looked around her and saw a large branch lying on the floor; she picked it up and ran as fast as she could using the trees as cover until she came out behind the man carrying the girl. She swung the branch as hard as she could and hit him on the head. He wobbled for a second before he turned around and looked right at Dawn. When she saw his face she gasped and took a step back and the branch slipped from her fingers. He dropped the girl he was carrying on the ground and grabbed Dawn around the neck before she had the chance to run. He tightened his hand and Dawn tried to scream. It became harder to breathe and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. The next thing she knew she'd landed on the floor with a thud and was gasping for breath, she got a mouthful of dust and started coughing.

Buffy loomed over her, holding a piece of wood, before collapsing to her knees and checking Dawn out for injuries. Dawn heard Buffy speaking but couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. She felt her mother pull her into her arms and that's when she noticed her face was wet.

Buffy let go and pushed Dawn's hair back from her face with both hands and held on to her face gently.

"Dawn look at me," Buffy demanded.

Dawn's eyes roamed Buffy's face but her vision was blurry from the tears. She blinked a few times and saw a man over her shoulder leaning over the girl she'd just tried to save.

"No" Dawn screamed and tried to scramble backwards.

"Dawn," Buffy said and tried to hold her down. "Please Dawn calm down, he's a friend."

Angel turned around and Dawn calmed at the sight of her dad.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked focussing her attention back on to her mother.

"I promise I'll explain everything but first we need to get you out of here." Buffy soothed and helped Dawn off the ground. Dawn's legs wobbled so Buffy held her up with a supportive arm around her waist.

"I'll take her to hospital. I'll meet you at your place when I'm done," Angel said and kissed Buffy on the head before he carried the girl out of the cemetery.

Buffy and Dawn walked home in silence. Buffy didn't know what to say, she'd hoped Dawn would never know about her extra curricular activities. Dawn was quiet because she was too busy looking around her to make sure no one was approaching.

When they entered the house Buffy sat Dawn on the sofa and went into the Kitchen to get her a glass of water. When she came back into the living room Dawn was sitting in the same place with her eyes trained on the door.

"Don't worry," Buffy said, handing Dawn the glass. "They can't come in unless they're invited."

"What were they?" Dawn asked, her eyes never leaving the door.

"Well," Buffy spoke, repositioning herself to face Dawn. "Do you want the truth?"

Dawn looked into her mother's eyes and saw something there she'd always seen but just never understood before.

"The truth please, I need to know." Dawn begged.

"When we lived in L.A. a man approached me, he told me all these wild stories about vampires and demons. I didn't believe him of course, because it couldn't possibly be true.

Then he told me he knew about the dreams I'd been having and that made me stop and listen. I had never told a single person about my dreams, I hadn't even written about them in my diary. I used to dream about being chased by a man with a horrible disfigured face, he would chase me mercilessly and I would never get away. So I heard him out. He told me I was a slayer, the one girl in the entire world with the strength and the skill to fight the forces of darkness. I still didn't believe him but when he asked me to meet him in the cemetery I did.

He told me to sit down and watch. Nothing happened for about an hour, but then the ground near him started moving and eventually a hand popped up through the ground. It was muddy and bleeding. The hand was quickly followed by a body, and a lady came out of the ground. I screamed and she looked at me. Her face was all distorted, like the man's face in my dreams. Merrick put a piece of wood through her heart, but before I could process it the ground under where I was sitting started shaking also. I scrambled away, but a hand came up and grabbed me by the ankle. I looked at Merrick for help. He threw me a piece of wood. The next thing I knew the hand was pulling on my leg and he managed to pull himself out of the ground. His face was the same as the lady's and he grinned at me.

I'm not sure what happened but something inside me snapped. I kicked him hard with my free leg and heard a crack before I jumped to my feet. Blood splurged out from his face and he stood up to. I panicked and thrust the wood at his heart and he exploded into a cloud of dust."

Buffy paused and looked at Dawn's shocked face.

"Vampires, demons and all those things that go bump in the night - they exist and I've spent years of my life fighting to keep them at bay. I never wanted for you to find out, ever! I'm so sorry you got hurt tonight."

"Mom, it's not your fault," Dawn blurted out.

Buffy looked confused but didn't say anything.

Dawn stared at her mother. Recently when she looked at her she felt such aggression towards her. The slightest thing made Dawn explode in anger. The feeling had weaned since she'd arrived here she felt a lot less anger to her mother and couldn't even remember why she got so mad all the time.

"Does magic exist?" Dawn asked out of the blue, surprising Buffy.

Buffy frowned at her before answering, "Yes it does, believe me. In fact Willow is getting really good at doing spells."

"Willow," Dawn whispered and shook her head.

Dawn felt an invisible force pressing her chest and she was sure this is what drowning would feel like. She needed space to breathe and think through everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours.

"Buffy would you mind if I go to bed, this is a lot to process."

Buffy stood and held out her hand to Dawn, "Of course you can, come on."

Buffy got Dawn tucked up in bed and went to leave the room, but stopped when Dawn called her name.

"How do I…" Dawn asked, not sure how to phrase the words.

"Crosses, holy water stop them, and a stake to the heart kills them. The trunk at the bottom of my bed is filled with everything you could possibly need. Take what you want," Buffy paused before leaving and went back to Dawn's bed. Buffy unclipped her necklace and motioned for Dawn to sit up.

"This has kept me safe, I hope it does the same for you," she spoke and fastened the necklace around Dawn's neck. Dawn lay back down touching her fingers to the cool metal of the cross on her chest and Buffy stared down at her sister.

"There's been something different about you recently," Buffy whispered and she brushed Dawn's hair off her face and kissed her forehead.

Buffy left Dawn to sleep and headed to her room just in time to see Angel come through the window.

"How is she?" They both spoke at the same time and smiled at each other. Angel made a gesture with his hand for Buffy to go first then laid down on her bed propping his head up with his arm. She curled up next to him and placed her head on his chest, playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"She took it surprisingly well, I thought for sure she would freak out." Buffy paused.

"What is it?" Angel asked, sensing something was troubling her. He turned his head to look at her and using his other arm to rest on Buffy's waist.

"This may sound weird but Dawn seems different. I feel different about her. She's always been this bratty little sister and when I found out about her not being real I felt a protectiveness towards her but now," Buffy paused again. "I don't know. I feel this connection between us, and I also feel you when she's around. It's strange I know, I don't really understand it, but the feeling's there. Like she's a part of us."

Angel didn't say anything but carried on stroking Buffy's back until they both fell asleep.

Buffy leaned back in the uncomfortable wooden chair at the end of the table, her eyes trained on Dawn who was doing a very good job of kicking Giles' butt. It had been four weeks since Dawn was attacked in the cemetery and everything was going well. Dawn handled the situation in a very mature manner and begged to help.

They'd become so close and Dawn was a number one supporter of Angel. Dawn had always had a crush on Xander but now whenever Xander made a comment about Angel in front of Dawn she would stick up for him, it didn't feel like she'd only known him for four weeks.

Buffy smiled remembering the night Angel had come over for dinner to meet Dawn properly. It had gone swimmingly and Dawn seemed really in favour of their relationship.

"I think you'll make great parents," Dawn had said out of nowhere as if she was talking about the weather.

Buffy had looked at Angel and he'd raised his eyebrows at her.

"What makes you say that?" Buffy asked.

"Call it women's intuition," Dawn said knowingly.

"I can't have children," Angel spoke, his eyes cast down.

"What?" Dawn gasped. "That can't be right." Buffy saw a wave of panic cross Dawn's face.

"There's something else we need to tell you," she spoke calmly, ignoring Dawn's odd behaviour.

Buffy and Angel told Dawn about Angel being a vampire. Dawn looked like she was going to faint but never once looked scared. That surprised Buffy a lot, after being attacked Dawn accepted the fact Angel was a vampire incredibly well. She listened intently when Angel spoke of his curse and when they were finished she sat back in her chair.

"You'll be human again one day and you'll be really happy." she said, looking Angel directly in the eye.

The subject had soon changed but those words had affected Buffy more than she'd like to admit.

Buffy was startled out of her revive when Dawn landed on her back. She felt her heart stop but relaxed when she heard Dawn giggle.

"I think that's enough for today, Dawn, go get changed and we'll head out to the mall."

Dawn grabbed her gym bag and left the library. The halls were quiet, as school had let out an hour ago. She changed quickly and headed back to the library.

Dawn brushed her fingers over the doors to the lockers lining the walls of the corridors and smiled as she passed her own locker.

Ever since she'd arrived she'd had a feeling bubbling within her. The feeling got bigger and bigger as the days passed. She though it was a cross between being totally scared and not knowing what to do and being excited to see what the next day would bring. Spending time with her mom had been great and she felt closer to her that she had in a long time.

She pushed the library door open but paused when she heard Giles say the name Drusilla.

"I didn't think she'd be back so soon," Buffy grumbled and Dawn heard the chair squeak.

She walked quietly over to Giles' office and peered though the window to see Buffy sitting on Giles chair with her legs propped up on his desk.

"You killed Spike and took Angel from her again, she's bound to want revenge." Giles sat on the edge of his desk and pushed Buffy's legs off of it.

Buffy pouted and spotted Dawn at the window, "Dawn, I can see you!"

"Sorry," Dawn apologised. "Who's Drusilla?" She questioned and sat on the couch.

"Some crazy vampire. Angel sired her. I killed her lover and now she's back for revenge," Buffy spoke so casually about her Dawn wondered why Giles looked so worried.

"She maybe crazy but she's smart, resourceful and has the best motivation for coming after you, Buffy. You need to take this more seriously." Giles stressed.

"I promised to be extra careful Giles," Buffy assured. "Let's go, Dawnie."

"Have you ever mentioned Drusilla to me before Buffy?" Dawn asked as they got into the car.

"Not sure. Why?" Buffy asked and started the engine.

"Her name is just really familiar," Dawn spoke as she fastened her seat belt.


	3. Chapter 3

Exactly a week later Dawn remembered why the name sounded so familiar. It was a Saturday night and the gang had got together to celebrate Buffy's birthday at Xander's house. It was midnight and Willow was tired, so Oz was going to drive her home. They went to the door but couldn't open it. Before they knew what was happening the room was on fire. It spread so fast nobody had time to react. Buffy kicked the door down and they escaped but Xander was caught in the blaze. She managed to drag him out but he was badly burned.

The week that followed had been hell. A new demon attacked everyday. Buffy or Angel managed to kill them but the last attack had left Willow in the hospital and Cordelia with a broken arm. Dawn had tried to tell Buffy that Drusilla would attack every night but Buffy was to far immersed in her guilt to listen. At the end of the first week she managed to get Angel to listen to her. She explained what would happen, she lied and said it had been a vision she'd had. Angel knew there was something off, but he believed her anyway, and it was it easier to fight against the attacks, especially as Dawn remembered some of the names of the demons her dad had told her. Prepared with the knowledge on how to kill the demons they fought them with less effort.

Willow returned from the hospital to find her parents laid out on the living room floor. Their throats had been ripped out.

At the end of the two weeks Buffy snapped and they made plans to take the fight to Drusilla.

"No," Dawn protested. "It's a trap!"

Everyone looked at her but Angel was the only one to speak.

"She's been right so far."

Buffy nodded, "Okay. What do you suggest?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry," Dawn dropped her head and Buffy hugged her tight.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, without your help we would be a lot worse off."

"After we don't take the bait she's going to come after us anyway," Willow spoke up. "If we go into this knowing it's a trap we'll be better prepared. It's the only way to stop her," Willow pleaded.

They realised Willow was right, and Dawn told them everything she knew would happen - leaving out some of the details her dad had told her.

There was indeed a trap, and just like her dad had told her three people had been captured.

Dawn looked over at her mother. She was lolled to one side, asleep because of the drugs she'd been given, but was showing signs of waking up.

"There's my little time traveller," Drusilla sang as she entered the room.

Dawn watched as the dark haired vampire danced across the room and came to a stop in front of her.

As Drusilla raised a hand and caressed her face, Dawn refused to flinch.

"Just like your mother," Drusilla whispered and kissed Dawn on the head.

Drusilla pulled back and Dawn saw a little boy enter the room; he looked to be around five or six, and scurried to Drusilla and held her legs.

"My baby boy" the vampiress bent down, picked up the boy and held him tight in her arms.

"This is the evil lady who took away your daddy," she brought the boy to face Buffy. "Do you want to kill her for me?" She asked in a sing song voice.

The little boy growled in Buffy's direction, reached out his hand and pulled hard on Buffy's hair, ripping out a clump of it. Buffy moaned in pain but was still too out of it because of the drugs. Drusilla bent her head down, bit into Buffy's neck and drank. When she pulled back there was a smear of blood on her face and she giggled when the little boy leaned forward and licked it off.

The crazy vampire carried the boy over to Dawn: "This is her little girl, but shush, she doesn't know." she singsonged.

He stared at her and Dawn had a spark of recognition for a second. He reached out his hand but Drusilla pulled him away.

"No, no, no, little Liam, she's all mummy's." She let him down and patted his bottom so he left the room.

Then Dawn realised why he looked so familiar and felt sick to her stomach.

Buffy groaned and her eyes opened and she looked immediately to Dawn.

"Are you okay?" Buffy questioned, panic in her voice.

"I'm fine, Oz is still out cold." Dawn nodded with her head in his direction.

"Angel's here," Buffy spoke. "We'll be out of this soon."

Dawn nodded, thanking god Angel had believed her about her visions. This time they were prepared and things would go differently from the story her father had told her. She'd asked Willow to show her several spells, and they had set up one that would let Willow be able to find Buffy anywhere at any time. She knew her father and the others were ready.

There was an explosion in the other room and she heard sounds of fighting.

After what felt like an eternity Angel burst into the room with Cordelia right behind him, and he immediately went to untie Buffy.

Cordelia slapped Oz hard on the face to wake him up.

They managed to escape with Angel carrying Buffy, but Drusilla had disappeared.

They'd almost made it to Buffy's house when Angel spotted a gang of vampires heading their way. He quickly put Buffy down leaning her against Dawn and thrust a bottle of

holy water into Dawn's hands. The scoobies fought desperately but they were outnumbered and they were tired from the previous fight. Willow fell to the ground right before Oz was knocked out.

A cold sense of doom crept up her spine. Dawn knew what she had to do. She placed Buffy on the ground under some bushes.

"Dawn?" Buffy asked still slightly groggy, the blood loss making it hard to fight the drugs in her system.

"Mom," Dawn whispered and took Buffy's hand. "I love you and dad so much. I'm really sorry for everything I've put your through the last couple of months. This is the only way to save you. I'm sorry," Dawn kissed her mother on the head and placed her own hands in front of her face. She said a few words and brought her hands down.

Buffy gasped in shock as Dawn transformed to look just like her.

"I love you," Dawn said one more time and stood up and ran away from the fight.

"Hey!" she yelled and all the vampires turned to her. "You're after me right?"

The vampires stopped fighting and took off after her.

She ran as hard and as fast as she could. She rounded the corner and the end of Station road and something hit her hard.

"Oh no, little girl, you don't get away that easily."

Dawn threw the bottle of holy water at Drusilla, it smashed in her face and the vampire burned. Then she watched in horror as Drusilla bent down as if nothing was wrong, bit her hard on the neck and began to drink. A silent scream left her throat.


	4. The End

**Hi,**

**I just wanted to say thank you, to all of you who reviewed this story! It means alot! Sorry i took so long to send out the last part, i was working in london and forgot all baout it. I hope you can forgive me!**

**So heres the last part and i hope you all enjoyed it. **

Part Three

Buffy woke with a start as she heard her daughter screaming. She rushed to the bed and hugged her tight.

Willow and Angel burst into the room to see what was happening.

"Willow what did you do?" Buffy demanded, hating to see her little girl in pain.

"Nothing, this isn't the spell," Willow promised.

"She's been out cold for two hours and now she's screaming like something's killing her."

Dawn stopped screaming and looked around the room. Her hand went straight to her neck but she felt no blood.

"Buffy what happened?" Dawn asked.

"Buffy? Do you hate me that much? You can't call me mom anymore?" Buffy asked tears in her eyes.

At that instant something shifted inside Dawn.

She looked around the room and her eyes fell on the cabinet - it was black! It was her room.

"I'm home!" Dawn cried in happiness and flung her arms around her mom and held on tight. "Thank god you're okay, I love you so much, mom. I'm so sorry for everything I've done."

Buffy held on tight as Dawn cried, and Angel came beside them and hugged them both.

Dawn froze "The little boy," She said aloud, causing Buffy and Angel to pull back.

"What, honey?" Buffy asked.

"Drusilla and Spike had a little boy," Dawn stated.

"How do you know about Spike?" Angel asked, sure he hadn't mentioned him before.

"A year ago, the day after my fifteenth birthday, I met a guy at the club paparazzi. He was cute he paid me so much attention I was flattered. He was obviously a lot older than me, so when we started dating I didn't tell you guys about him. I was infatuated with him and I thought you would stop me seeing him. A week after I'd known him he introduced my to his friends; they were older and I was in awe of them. They were drinking so I joined in. We were together two months at this stage.

He said I shouldn't tell you I was with him and started making me see you guys in a different light. He told me my friends were immature so I stopped hanging around with them. He said my school was pointless so I stopped going. He was so insistent that you guys were holding me back and that you were bad parents! I couldn't tell which were my thoughts and which were his anymore. I started to hate you and I didn't care how much I was hurting you with my words and my actions.

Six months into the relationship I caught him putting something in my drink. It was a red liquid. I questioned him about it, but I didn't really care - I was too in love. He told me it was blood and that he was a vampire. He took me to this basement club and it was filled with people dressed like vampires from the movies. He was in charge of the gang and he would speak of getting revenge on his parents' murderers. I went along with it because the thought of him not wanting me anymore was unbearable."

Dawn paused and looked at Willow.

"When you cast that spell on me it did something you hadn't expected. It sent me back in time."

"Dawn," Buffy started.

"No, mom, I'm telling the truth! I know everything. I was there when you saved those girls having a séance in the cemetery. I was Dawn, I took her place. I'm the one that was captured with you, I was the one who led the vampires away while you escaped."

Buffy and Angel looked at each other in shock.

"While we were captured you were unconscious, and Drusilla was in the room when a little boy came in. he had the bluest eyes I've ever seen and I was sure I knew him from somewhere. He ripped out your hair with a single tug and when I looked at him I sensed evil. His name was Liam."

Dawn paused swallowing back the tears in her throat. "My boyfriend's name is Liam and I'm sure they're the same person. He's been using me to get to you."

"He can't be a vampire," Buffy said.

"No, he isn't," Dawn, responded. "I've seen him in daylight and he has a pulse."

"But that doesn't make him human," Angel offered.

"What do we do?" Willow asked still standing in the doorway.

"Research," Dawn smiled. Still feeling like a Scooby.

"You're taking all of this really well," Buffy said with a soft smile.

"I've had a while to deal with it," Dawn smiled too.

Angel got up and left the room, followed by Willow. Dawn got up and she and Buffy followed Angel and Willow out to the car, going to Giles' house.

Liam was sitting in his office at the club and raised his head and called 'come in' when he heard a knock at the door.

"You should be more careful who you invite in," Buffy quipped as she entered the room and settled herself in the seat facing Liam.

"Mrs Summers, if you're here about Dawn she isn't here," Liam told her, playing the nice guy.

"Oh, I know, she's safe."

"I'm sorry we kept our relationship a secret from you," He looked so sorry.

"I'm sure you are, Liam, but like father like son. He wasn't a very good liar either."

Liam's hand went for the phone, "Don't bother, your security are all dead."

"How did you know?" Liam asked his other hand sliding slowly under the desk.

"That's for me to know." Buffy reached over and pulled up his hand so it was on the desk too, and held his hand tight.

"You messed with the wrong person's daughter, and I have it on good authority you were the one who ripped out my hair all those years ago. Your mother and father deserved to die, they were soulless demons that killed people for sport.

I happen to know you're a kevnar demon and they are peaceful, so I'll let you go; God knows what you went through as a child with Spike and Dru as parents! But if you come near my family ever again, I will kill you."

Liam pulled hard to break away from Buffy but she held on tight.

"Are we clear?" Buffy demanded to know.

Liam nodded but there was a clear defiance in his eyes. Buffy let go but pushed him hard so the chair crashed against the wall and Liam feel to the ground and then left the room.

Liam grabbed a broad sword from the closet and stormed out of the room. He raised it high but before he could stab Buffy he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a blade coming out of his stomach and blood pouring from the wound. He dropped the sword he was carrying and turned round to face his attacker.

There stood Dawn, tears streaming down her face, her hands gripping the hilt of the sword.

"I loved you," She whispered.

She gave out a loud cry and pulled the sword out of Liam, and watched as he slipped to the ground. Buffy came round to her daughter and took her hand, leading her out of the club.

Buffy closed the door, not knowing what else to do for her daughter, and followed Xander down the hallway.

"You're not a Summers until you've fallen in love with a demon," Xander quipped and Buffy elbowed him hard in the stomach.

Dawn sat with her back pressed hard against her bed board, her legs pulled up tightly against her. She mourned for the loss of her innocence and of the man she loved. She cried herself to sleep that night and the next night until she no longer had any tears left to cry.

The following morning they were all sitting around the kitchen table, Buffy's hand holding Angel's in a tight grip. With a cup of cocoa in her hand, Dawn leaned her head onto her father's shoulder. They could hear the muted sounds of the television in the next room, and no one spoke a word for the longest time. They all basked in the quiet. Things were finally how they should be.

The end

Please feed me i'd love to know what you thought of the whole story!


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